Lipid sources and emulsifiers in Japanese quail diets as modulators of performance, egg quality and yolk fatty acid profile

Abstract Using emulsifiers in poultry diets may increase digestibility of alternative lipid sources and enrich poultry egg yolks altering their fatty acid composition. This study aimed to evaluate performance, nutrient digestibility, egg quality, egg quality according to their storage period, and the fatty acid profile of Japanese quail egg yolk ( Coturnix coturnix japônica ). The design was completely randomized, in which 270 female quails were allocated in a 3x2 factorial diet arrangement: three lipid sources (soybean oil, poultry fat, and beef tallow), supplemented or not with an emulsifier, following two nutritional strategies – a diet formulated to meet the nutritional requirements proposed by INRA and a diet formulated with a reduction of 96 Kcal/kg of feed and added emulsifier. The effects of interactions between the lipid sources and the emulsifier were studied, their isolated effects when interactions were absent and the effect of storage time, and their interactions with the factors evaluated for egg quality variables. Feed intake was greater when beef tallow was added to the diets, while feed conversion was worse for birds fed diets with soybean oil and the emulsifier. Quails fed the diet with the emulsifier and soybean oil produced better quality eggs represented by the higher Haugh unit. Diets with beef tallow and poultry fat provided a higher percentage of palmitic and unsaturated fatty acids in the quail egg yolk. Alternative lipid sources such as beef tallow and poultry fat can be used as a substitute for soybean oil with added emulsifiers in diets for egg-laying quails without impairing performance and egg quality. The use of emulsifiers with alternative lipid sources to soybean oil can be considered a nutritional strategy in laying quail diets, but the reduction of energy in the diet must be adequate for the species.